Image via Complex Original
The definition of the word "hype"—extravagant or intensive publicity or promotion—has been around for what seems like ages when describing material things we ogle over. With the Yeezy II sneakers creating havoc across the globe with everyone from toddlers to old fogies trying to get their hands on a pair, hype has become even more universal. However, sneakers haven't been the only thing causing a ruckus lately.
This spring/summer 2012 season has seen its fair share of hyped-up items that aren't sneakers that many people were looking to add to their closets. From T-shirts and hoodies, to dress shoes and accessories, these hyped items caused shoppers to camp out for days and make rapid-fire pushes to the "refresh" button. So we look back at the 10 Most Hyped Clothing Items Of The Year. Did you manage to pick up any?
Dockers Camo Alpha Chinos
Dockers is back, baby! While this was established last year with a resurgence in the chino department, no other Dockers, or chino for that matter, has gotten quite the positive response from the menswear world as the Dockers Camo Alpha Chino. With the superior fit of the Alpha series and a kick-ass price to match, all it needed was camo to make it a favorite. With Nick Wooster and other prominent tumblr faces wearing the pants that came out earlier this year, the rest of the community followed suit and started wearing them this summer.
Cole Haan LunarGrands
Cole Haan and Nike's relationship had been pretty quiet since joining forces in 1988, but when the "is it a brogue or a sneaker?" LunarGrands dropped in March of this year, a collective gasp spread over the interwebs. There wasn't a Tumblr dashboard these bad boys weren't showing up on with yays and nays galore. Mostly yays, though, with many colorways, a chukka version, and Fragment Design about to release an an already sought-after collab. The LunarGrand internet winnage continues through this summer.
Black Scale x A$AP Rocky Capsule Collection
With A$AP Rocky dominating the fashion world thanks to his sense of style and swagged-out attitude, people couldn't wait to gobble up the capsule collection he helped design. The Black Scale x A$AP Rocky collection's T-shirts, caps, hoodies, and sweatshirts had dysfunctional youth around the globe screaming "A$AP!" on release day, with most pieces getting consumed well, ASAP. The crew even showed up for support in the San Francisco store to a huge line waiting for them and their collab. Now that's love.
Woolrich Woolen Mills African Print Shirt
When you throw Mark McNairy in the sartorial booth, you never know what he's going to spit out. On this occasion, though, you got one of the most hyped items Woolrich Woolen Mills has seen in its existence. The African Print shirt came in two colorways and utilized a print that for a while had remained dormant in men's fashion. While florals and camos were prominent, this African print ushered in a new era of bold patterns, getting press in just about every menswear-related publication in existence as one of the riskiest style choices this spring.
Supreme Kate Moss T-Shirt
What was more hyped; the shirt or the poster? While this is highly debatable, the T-shirt from Supreme's spring/summer 2012 collection was on the minds of everyone in line. Kidult took offense to the hype (or cashed in) and created his own fake Kate Moss campaign with a T-shirt that sold out instantly. How meta.
Bape x UNDFTD Island Woven Button Down
The Bape x UNDFTD collab which released earlier this month had the internet weeping tears of joy, joining two streetwear giants at the hip for some kickass pieces. None kicked more ass than the Island Woven shirt, a short sleeve button down that is decidedly "not gross." With a funky pattern and recognizable ape logo on the chest, this thing had a hard time staying stocked on shelves with online restocks lasting about as long as Kris and Kim's marriage. And when you're getting a chick's thumbs-up approval on it, why wouldn't dudes want to scoop it up?
Nike FuelBand
Even though it's been named one of the best gadgets of the year so far, the Nike FuelBand has maneuvered its way into the fashion world. So while it measures your activity for the day as a high-tech fitness bracelet, it also serves as a fashionable accessory everyone wants to get their hands on this summer. No seriously: everyone. But who wouldn't want a device that pretty much tells you to stop being a lazy piece of shit, and looks cool? And now with a new transparent "Ice" colorway out, there's two ways to hop on the "band" wagon.
Odd Future Golf Wang Cat T-Shirt
Rebellious youth worldwide have called upon OFWGKTA to tell them what to wear when they don't want to look like they care what they wear. So, other than the occasional Supreme item that would otherwise go under the radar (see: 5-panel camp caps and all-over Snow White button-downs), Odd Future got smart and started putting out the quirky shit they like to rock from time to time, including the Golf Wang Cat T-shirt. While this T-shirt debuted last year, it was impossible to find until Tyler and crew decided to release it in their online and open various pop-up shops that so many kids lined up for. Pusha T even got in on the madness. Now that's saying something.
Givenchy Shark Sweater
While it's easy to make fun of what animal Givenchy will put on their clothing next, the desire for the brand's graphics can't be denied. With the rottweiler being the muse to Riccardo Tisci's most famous work last year, this year follows the ferocious path with the shark. While rappers and ballplayers galore completely overdid the Rottweiler series, the Shark Sweater is headed toward the same fate. And at $510, it's not a cheap summer trend to adopt.
Supreme x Comme des Garcons Collection
The creme de la creme of hype so far in 2012, who would've known some dots and stripes would have people in line for days and screaming at their computers? What do you expect from brands with devoted cults like Supreme and Comme des Garcons? You can't argue the hype with eBay prices reaching $400. If you're one of the lucky ones rocking items from the collab this summer, hold on to your shit with a tight grip.
